Myrtis is the reconstructed head of a girl that once lived in Classical-era ancient Athens and died during the plague in Athens in the 5th century BC. Photo: Wikimedia Commons Copyright: Tilemahos Efthimiadis License: CC-BY-SA

The face of Avgi, an 18-year-old girl from 7000 BC era ancient Athens has been reconstructed by several medical specialists and will be unveiled at the Acropolis Museum later next week.

Avgi – Dawn – was discovered by archaeologist Nina Kyparissi-Apostolika in Theopetra cave, near Trikala, and is the newest reconstruction by a team under Professor Orthodontics from The University of Athens, Manolis Papgrigorakis. The story first appeared in a feature for the Athens-Macedonian News Agency (ANA) magazine ‘To Praktoreio’, penned by the Professor.

The reconstruction of Avgi’s face reportedly involved several medical specialists including an endocrinologist, orthopaedic, neurologist, pathologist and radiologist and is greatly expected to enhance current understanding of Greece’s history and culture.

Avgi was named after “the Dawn of Civilization” and follows the reconstruction of Myrtis (pictured above), another ancient Athenian femme who died during the plague in 5th Century BC Athens and was discovered in Keramikos.

As Mr Papgrigorakis told ‘Nature’ journal in 2011, the reconstruction process for Myrtis involved placing markers on the skull, and then forming anatomically correct muscles using clay with the help of Swedish sculptor, Oscar Nilsson.